Willard Retiring, Berchtold Upped @ Live Nation
• Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. announced that Chief Financial Officer/EVP Kathy Willard (left) has decided to retire after nearly 25 years at the company, effective June 30, 2021.
Joe Berchtold (right), who has served as Live Nation’s President since 2017, will assume the dual role of President & CFO, effective July 1. Willard will consult on the transition and remain with the company as an advisor to the management team.
“Kathy has been here since day one of Live Nation, and on behalf of the entire team, I want to thank her for her remarkable dedication and enormous contributions to our company,” said Michael Rapino, Live Nation President & CEO. “Kathy’s leadership, vision and financial expertise have driven more than two decades of growth and will forever be part of Live Nation’s journey.” Willard remarked, “It has been an honor to have worked for this innovative and exciting company for so many years. I’m truly grateful to my Live Nation colleagues for their partnership, knowledge and friendship. I’m proud of the work we have done to position the company for future financial success, and as we return to live shows, I know Joe will do an excellent job leading the company’s finances during one of the most important times in the company’s history.”
Weighing in on Berchtold’s newly expanded role, Rapino said, “Joe has always been intricately involved in our financial planning process and we’re happy to have someone who already knows our business so well stepping into this role. Over the past year we’ve been obsessed with improving our business however we can, and we’re heading into the return of shows as we have deepened our executive team to provide more leadership on strategy, operations, and innovation than ever before. This will allow Joe to take on our CFO role and together, we will continue to focus on maintaining a strong financial position while ensuring that Live Nation is ready to resume live shows as soon as possible.”
Berchtold commented, “I’m grateful for the opportunity to have worked so closely with Kathy for over a decade, particularly over the past year as we prepared for this transition. I look forward to taking a deeper focus on our financial operations and continuing to lead Live Nation alongside Michael and our incredible global executive team.”
